Climbing “halfway to the stars”

Tuesday March 15

Any fans of Tony Bennett will know from the title that today I get to play with cable cars! One of the terminuses is just across the road from my hotel. I can get a day ticket for $10, 3 days for $20 or 7 days for $26. Although I am only here for 5 days, I get the 7 day ticket, which can be used on both streetcars and buses as well as cable cars.

The ride is noisy, exciting and great fun. The guys running the car are entertaining and have fun with their passengers before the car leaves.

“Madam, get your nose out of that map; you don’t need it with me here.” (takes tourist book off her, looks through it) “Actually it’s pretty good, I’ve lived here all my life, and *I* didn’t know that.” (walks off with book and pretends to show all his colleagues, returning it just before we leave) “You know, I never knew that!”

The car I take runs all the way down to Market Street, in the city centre, and and so I decide to look round the shops. I am actually in need of a pair of trousers (pants), as my good pair split a seam, leaving me with a thin pair of khakis and my shorts. Although I know most stores won’t have my size, I figure Macy’s menswear will be able to advise me. They recommend “Rochester Tall & Wide”, a store just up the road.

Even this store doesn’t have my size. The general assumption is that large waisted gents have short legs. However, they have some unfinished casual trousers in stock that their tailor can turn up to the correct length while I wait. I expect a high price, but it is very reasonable for an excellent quality trouser, so I buy two pairs. In England, I would have paid the dollar price, but in pounds.

I was planning to track down a BBQ place for lunch, but I pass a pizza restaurant, and realise that is what I fancy. I make a mistake of being tempted by a ginger chicken dumpling starter which is huge, so I only eat half of the excellent pizza, and have the rest boxed. Fortunately, my hotel room has a fridge!

After a few more hours shopping, I take the cable car back, dump my purchases, and change to meet Joey in the evening; for sushi, which is delicious. I come away from the meal with another box to join the pizza in the fridge, but it doesn’t last that long, and I finish it for supper.

4 Comments

Out of interest, how easy (by comparison) would it be to get trousers to fit you in (say) London, if you were a tourist and didn’t know the stores? I suspect that it might well be not only more expensive here but also more difficult (the Levis shop in Milton Keynes will turn up jeans, but takes a couple of hours to do it, last time I had it done with trousers I had to go back the next day or so).

High & Mighty are all over the UK, and have a good size range. However, they are pricey, and I have discovered that their quality is pretty dire sometimes, with missed or weak seams and a narrow range of materials. I also doubt they could make same day adjustments.There are many places in London you could walk out the same day, but there you would be paying full whack gentleman’s tailoring.

I was told Rochester have a store in London, but was also told the prices are literally a $1=£1 conversion. Having worn their trousers for a couple of days, I am considering going back for yet another pair, while I am in SF; although I have to decide if it is worthwhile, given that I am still trying to lose weight. I may leave it, and just take the hit on the cost in London.